Black Water (2007) Intense Australian low-budgeter about a small group of friends who find themselves trapped in a watery nightmare when their motorboat capsizes and they’re hunted by a large, bloodthirsty crocodile. The characters are all basically cardboard cutouts, but it’s the screenplay (by directors Andrew Traucki and David Nerlich) that makes the film work, utilizing the dire situation to its fullest effect by creating moments of true suspense and genuine surprises, right up until the end. B+
The Blair Witch Project (1999) The game changer that single-handedly created a new subgenre, this zero-budget scare show took horror to a new level at a time when the genre was becoming stale with countless Scream wannabes and soulless teen vehicles. Crafting its story around the structure of home videos, Blair Witch smartly uses bare-bones visual trickery by elevating the simple plot – three friends making a school video project about a mythical forest witch – into an atmospheric, dense, incredible suspenseful piece of filmmaking. Realistic characters and raw emotions help fuel the intensity, as do the moments of sheer horror, including the infamous, white-knuckle ending. A
The Brotherhood of Satan (1971) A well-made response to Rosemary’s Baby about a small town under the influence of a satanic cult that’s using the town’s children for sinister reasons. Moody and unpredictable, this mostly works because of its surreal, dream-like structure and surprising violence. The only thing keeping this from achieving cult classic status is its lackluster, disappointing ending. C+
Old (2021) A misguided adaptation of Frederik Peeters and Pierre Oscar Lévy’s acclaimed graphic novel, Sandcastle, about several groups of beachgoers who are effected by an unknown, supernatural event that rapidly speeds up their aging process. Director/writer M. Night Shyamalan’s screenplay is littered with plot holes and story inconsistencies, while the characters are vapid and unsympathetic. The biggest sin the film makes is explaining the mystery with a bumbling happy ending that essentially pulls the rug out from underneath itself. A genuine turkey. D